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How To Start An Affiliate Program On Shopify

An affiliate program is definitely not a hands-off approach to marketing, but if executed correctly, it can be an extremely profitable marketing channel for your e-commerce business. For example, I've got one client whose affiliate program is responsible for 80% of their sales, of which one very powerful affiliate brings in over half of the affiliate revenue – or roughly $4 million dollars a year. The right affiliates in combination with a well executed program can be a game changer for an e-commerce store.

Since I started this website in Sep 2016, I've helped over 1000+ Shopify store owners choose the right Shopify affiliate apps to power their affiliate programs, and during this time I've answered hundreds of e-mails through my online questionnaire and had hundreds of phone calls with store owners who were starting an affiliate program for the first time.

And as you can imagine, via these calls and e-mails, I received many of the same questions from folks who were just starting out, which is why I put together the Affiliate Marketing FAQ section of this website. But that wasn't enough and some store owners didn't just want help setting up their affiliate programs – they wanted me to do it for them, so I started offering affiliate program setup & management services.

I do my best to provide as much valuable information as possible on this website, and I go above and beyond for my clients who utilize my free or paid services – but there's something missing in between those two worlds. There's a big learning curve to running an affiliate program and sometimes my free information isn't enough. And on the flip side of that coin, not everyone can afford my paid affiliate program setup and management services, especially store owners that are just starting out.

So to satisfy this sweet spot in the middle between my free and paid services, I've decided to produce the Internet's best and most comprehensive online course on how to start an affiliate program for your Shopify store. This course will cover the following beginner, intermediate, and advanced topics:

Introduction to Affiliate Marketing

How do affiliate programs work?

What's the difference between affiliate programs and referral programs? Should I have one or the other or both?

What's the difference between an affiliate program and a multi-level marketing (MLM) program?

What's the difference between a hosted affiliate program and an affiliate network?

Are affiliate networks right for me?

What are the benefits and risks of starting an affiliate program?

Is an affiliate program right for my business?

Time & Money

What are the costs involved with setting up an affiliate program?

How much time does it take to setup an affiliate program?

What is the best affiliate app for my store?

Do I need to know how to code to setup an affiliate program?

How much will my sales increase with an affiliate program?

Affiliate Management & Compensation

How much commission should I offer affiliates?

What type of rewards / compensation / bonuses should I offer my affiliates?

Should I pay a one time fee or a recurring commission on my subscription services?

Should I pay my affiliates for referring visitors, leads, or sales?

What resources and tools do I need to provide my affilites?

Should I offer my affiliates custom discount codes?

How do I incentivize my affiliates to sell my products and services?

When and how often should I pay my affiliates?

How do I find and recruit affiliates for my online store?

Should I let anyone join my affiliate program?

Technical Details of Affiliate Programs

What are the different methods of tracking sales?

What are cookies and how do they track sales?

How long of a duration should I set my cookies for?

What's the difference between first and last referrer and why does it matter?

I've helped a hundreds of e-commerce store owners get started into the world of affiliate marketing, and I've also been on the other side of the industry as an affiliate for companies big and small for the past 13 years. Through my experience in both sides of the industry, I'm confident that my online course will add tremendous value to your business.

Unfortunately… ready for the sad news? The course is not available yet!

However, if you're interested in becoming a beta tester for the course, please fill out the form below. As a beta tester, you'll get early bird access and pricing (75% off retail price), a free private one-on-one consultation session for your business, and free lifetime course updates in exchange for your feedback, which will help shape the course for future customers. The beta program is limited so don't hesitate to fill out the form below – you can always change your mind later.

Beta Course Interest Form

Name*

FirstLast

Email:*

Store URL:

What questions do you have about starting an affiliate program that weren't mentioned in the list above? I'll be sure to include them in the course.

*Note: The interest list is powered by MailChimp, but I won't be blowing you up with e-mails trying to sell you anything. Just one or two e-mails when the beta course is available to remind you to sign up if you're still interested. I'm an online business owner like you and respect your e-mail privacy.

Become a beta tester for my new course and get early bird access and pricing, a private one-on-one consultation session for your business, and free lifetime course updates in exchange for your feedback.

Updates

If anything important happens in this industry, we'll send you an e-mail detailing the change. Otherwise you won't hear from us.